By Wednesday, 24 September 2025, 6:17 Pm Article: Rnz

Copyright scoop

Hill, Reporter

Wellington psychiatrist
Jeremy McMinn had a rare “two days off” this week, thanks to
the 48-hour strike by the Association of Salaried Medical
Specialists – but will still be clocking up 56

“When I get back on Thursday, that day will be
48 hours’ long, effectively. I’ll be working for a 48-hour
stretch, covering three other missing doctors,” he said,
standing in the picket-line outside the Wellington
electorate office of Finance Minister Nicola

“It’s just dire, you can’t run a service like
that. For someone like me, it’s either retire or move to
Australia, it’s just too wearying.”

Gastroenterologist
Amanda Chen, who brought her toddler to the protest, said
she and her colleagues were fighting for the future health
system too.

“I think all of us feel morally conflicted
coming to strike, but it’s needed to make changes that will
be better for all of our country in the
long-term.”

Cancer patient backing

Health NZ estimated the strike – which
finishes at one minute to midnight – was disrupting care for
about 13,000 patients.

Cancer patient Charyl Robinson,
who joined the protest to show solidarity with her “amazing
team of -ologists”, said she had personally written to
Health Minister Simeon Brown twice about her worries over
workforce vulnerabilities – but only received an “auto

“He’s very selective about the patients he’ll
engage with. The likes of me, who don’t share his narrative,
I don’t matter. So when I hear him talk about being
concerned for patients, quite frankly, I find that
laughable.”

Her medical oncologist, Sharon Pattison,
said if she were “sensible”, she would be working
exclusively in the private system, or have already moved to

“This is about the people who I care about
– the patients I have, who I think deserve more than I am
able to give them.

“Health doesn’t even have an IT
system that’s robust enough for me to be able to look
something up.”

Finance Minister declines to

According to the Association of Salaried Medical
Specialists, Health NZ’s current offer was “a pay cut in
real terms” for most senior doctors.

After more than a
year of deadlocked negotiations, Health NZ has asked the
Employment Relations Authority to over-ride the bargaining
process and dictate the terms of a
settlement.

However, union leader Sarah Dalton said
she did not believe the application met the criteria for
so-called “fixing” by the ERA because there had not been any
“bad faith bargaining behaviour”.

“We are confident
our bargaining approach has been entirely in good

“I know Health NZ was frustrated that the
executive was not prepared to settle for what was on the
table, or lift the strike action on the basis of the
conversations we had over those last three days of
bargaining.

“But we believe they are not paying
attention to staffing levels in hospitals and what they need
to do about it.”

The finance minister was a no-show
today at the Johnsonville Mall, having declined the union’s
offer to meet.

Dalton said that did not stop members
from sending a message to the government that more funding
was needed to keep the public health system
functioning.

“To some extent, money is the solution

“I believe Health NZ needs to have a long talk
to the government about the funding parameters in place and
they need to think about how they want to staff our public
hospitals, because we need them [doctors].

“The answer
is not in private hospitals and outsourcing – it’s in
sustainably staffed public hospitals, with many more
doctors, nurses and allied health professionals than we have

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